Untold story of the shootout with drug criminals in the forest

Shooting at police while surrounded in deep forest

(Baonghean.vn) - A group of Lao people carrying AK guns and grenades, sneaking into the forest to smuggle drugs into the country to sell, were surrounded and arrested by the police. They fought back fiercely.

Immediately after the arrest of a group of Lao people who were sneaking into the forest to smuggle drugs into the country at 0:00 on October 26, Colonel Nguyen Manh Hung - Deputy Director of Nghe An Provincial Police Department went directly to the scene.

Here, the body of a Laotian man, commonly known as Sua, identified as the leader of the drug trafficking group, is still being protected. When he was shot and died, he was still holding an AK gun and a flashlight in his hands.

Sua's body was still holding the AK gun and flashlight. Photo: Nghe An Police

Police also seized at the scene 3 heroin cakes, 12,000 synthetic drug pills, 12 bullets, 2 grenades. Around the area of ​​arrest, there was a camp that these subjects used whenever they had to rest in the forest.

According to Nghe An Police, in early September 2018, experienced detectives discovered a drug trafficking ring from Laos to Nghe An for consumption. This ring was led by Laotians who were fluent in Vietnamese, operated in a sophisticated and daring manner, equipped with firearms and ready to fight back against the authorities when surrounded and arrested.

After a period of information gathering, at the end of September 2018, the police established a special project coded 918C to fight and destroy. In addition to the core force of anti-drug police of Nghe An Provincial Police, the project also had the participation of soldiers from the Drug Crime Investigation Police Department (Ministry of Public Security).

The shack near the scene - where the subjects used to rest in the forest. Photo: Nghe An Police

Through monitoring, the police learned the rules of this drug trafficking ring. Accordingly, these subjects did not deliver goods to the same location twice in a row to avoid detection.

They also frequently change the time and place of receiving the goods to avoid being caught by the police. What is special is that they often deliver the goods at dawn, then quickly retreat to the border without leaving any traces.

Around the beginning of October 2018, intelligence sources reported that these subjects began planning to deliver a large shipment and this time they would deliver the goods directly in the forest. The task force met and planned to arrest them.

On October 25, dozens of police officers from the Provincial Police Drug Police Department, the Drug Crime Investigation Police Department (Ministry of Public Security) and Tuong Duong District Police began to carry out the plan. The location the criminal group passed through was a mountain in Xop Pu village, Yen Na commune, nearly 1km from the residential area. The attack teams began to deploy their forces.

The task force prepares to leave. Photo: Nghe An Police

"From the night of October 25, the scouts were in position, lying in ambush in the deep forest under the cold fog. It was dark, sometimes raining, and there were mosquitoes and leeches biting them, but no one dared to make any noise to avoid being detected," said an officer participating in the investigation.

At more than 11pm on October 25, from deep in the forest, the light from the flashlight appeared and disappeared. The scouts continued to hold their breath, watching every move to clearly understand the path of these subjects. After many hours of ambush, knowing that these subjects were surrounded by attack forces, the Task Force decided to fire a warning shot into the air, calling on the subjects to surrender.

However, they did not obediently listen, but pointed their guns at the Task Force and opened fire. Each gunshot rang out in the middle of the night, tearing apart the silence of the mountains and forests. The scouts had to hide behind cliffs and tree roots to avoid the bullets of these subjects.

The police continued to call on these subjects to surrender, but they refused to listen. To ensure the safety of the police and the people, the Task Force decided to open fire. After about an hour of gunfire, the group of criminals took advantage of the darkness to escape deep into the forest.

Police seized evidence at the scene. Photo: Nghe An Police

Checking the scene, the police discovered the body of a man, later identified as Sua, the ringleader. Sua still held an AK in his hand that still smelled of gunpowder, and a flashlight in his hand.

"Súa is the leader of this criminal group. Two people escaped, it is not yet known whether they were injured or not," said Lieutenant Colonel Tran Huong Nam - Deputy Chief of Staff of Nghe An Provincial Police.